Speeches by Benn.

“Is that in the MOU?”

“That is something that the Irish have put into the MOU. One would have to ask them the question.”

“It depends in what circumstances that was operated. I should add that, as well as providing information, there is also an undertaking to ensure that witnesses from Ireland can be called. That, too, is extremely welcome. It is a very long memorandum of understanding and reflects the unprecedented nature of the co-operat…”

“I certainly have thought about it, because it seems a roundabout route. I get a letter saying, “We would like this to be investigated but we cannot post it direct to the commission so we are going to post it to you. Then you can put another stamp on it and post it on to the commission”. It does not seem very sensible t…”

“The lack of trust on the part of quite a lot of people in Northern Ireland in the commission, in the form and circumstances in which it was created, stems from two things. One is the wider context. Everything else shut down. Inquests that were taking place were closed. Civil cases stopped. In respect of civil cases, th…”

“It is undertaking investigations as we speak. The courts have found some things that it says are not compliant in relation to representation for families in the public hearings and what it has called the EIP in the past, and on disclosure. I told the House last December what I proposed to do in respect of those two thi…”

“It is important to draw on all experience, including investigative experience as available. I would not support saying, “Just because you served in the RUC, you cannot have anything to do with investigations”. That, as I understand, is not the view of Sir Declan Morgan. I think that he was questioned on that by the Com…”

“When I say that I have been listening very carefully in the very large number of meetings that I have had with a very wide group of people, I mean it. I have gone away and said, “On this point, this point and this point, what is the merit in doing something about that?” When the draft legislation is published, I hope t…”

“As I indicated in answer to an earlier question, the oversight board that we are looking to establish will invite applications. Those can come from people from any jurisdiction with a wide range of experience. The appointments to those boards, one hopes, will offer the people you are referring to and who are asking the…”

“As I have learned from the very beginning of dealing with this, lots of people say lots of things. They are not things that I have said. Indeed, I have said that I have confidence in the leadership of the commission. That is very important. People, of course, are entitled to their opinion. It is a mistake to focus on i…”

“That is a judgment the commission would have to make in the circumstances. One of the tasks that we are all engaged in here is how to command greater confidence in precisely these legacy processes, given that there are a lot of people who do not have confidence in them at the moment.”

“That is why I have said repeatedly that I have confidence in the leadership of the commission. I really do not think it helps to attack people on that basis, but the commission needs to have effective mechanisms for dealing with conflicts of interest, or apparent conflicts of interest. That is something that will be fo…”

“I met Sir Iain Livingstone last week. Following up on the exchange we had about three months ago, I went away and checked that the letter to him responding to the recommendations has gone, and the letter in relation to his separate request referring to the naming of Stakeknife. I think I am right in saying that the let…”

“It may or it may not. That depends when the Supreme Court decides to deliver a judgment in the Thompson case, which is obviously not in my control. Even if Kenova has published, the Government are still able to reflect on the request that was made and make a decision once we have seen what the Thompson judgment has to …”

“We are thinking about that. I think that I am right in saying that one of the requests I received was to say, “We would like to link this investigation to another investigation”. Have I got that right?”

“I said, “Fine”—I hope I said, “Fine”.”

“I did say, “Fine”. In which case, on the basis of what I have just said to you, Dr Pinkerton, it would seem reasonably sensible to say, “The commission can see a connection there. Can we make that connection ourselves?” We are still reflecting on precisely how that might work. It is very much a demand-led model, and th…”

“Would you like to comment on that?”

“I have made it clear that those that had already started will resume. For the others, there are two issues. First, what is the speediest and most effective way of making progress in looking at a particular case? As I have come to learn more about the inquest process in Northern Ireland, I think it is fair to say that i…”

“It would not be right to assume that. What I am putting to the Committee is that there will need to be a mechanism for determining the answer to the very fair question you have asked.”